[F1]Heikki Kovalainen

Je veux bien un numéro de fan : le #22 sera parfait

Narm a écrit:Je veux bien un numéro de fan : le #22 sera parfait

Accordé!

Meilleur résultat, meilleure course et plus beaux fights de l'année! Fort belle course Mister Kova! :up1:

lotusien a écrit:Meilleur résultat, meilleure course et plus beaux fights de l'année! Fort belle course Mister Kova! :up1:

oui, c'est bien pour kova, il se bat comme un vrai malade. je trouve les commentaires de button plutôt acerbes, d'ailleurs.

Pour les anglophones, une interview de Heikki avant Silverstone sur le site Off.
http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2012/7/13534.html

Exclusive Q&A with Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen 05 Jul 2012
Making the move from McLaren to a small start-up was a brave course of action for Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen to take three seasons ago. But, so far, Kovalainen couldn't be happier with his plucky decision. Comfortable and proud of the steady progress made by his team so far, the Finn is hopeful that all the hard work is gradually starting to pay off...

Q: Heikki, the team is now in its third year. Drivers are always inclined to think development is proceeding too slowly, but what do you think?
Heikki Kovalainen: No, I don’t think so. We have achieved a huge amount in what is still a very short amount of time - and there are no shortcuts to success. The main thing is that there’s nothing we can do about the past, so it’s better not to worry about what has gone before. The fact is we are now making good progress and we proved that in Valencia, so the future is the only thing we need to focus on. We’re working on more updates, some of which we’ll take a look at in Silverstone, and we’ll keep making progress. So we’re all looking forwards, not backwards.

Q: What would you identify as the team’s weak spots?
HK: There are a few things we know we need to keep improving. One of the main ones is the facilities and we’ve already addressed that. The shareholders have invested again and have given the team a new and much bigger home in Leafield and that’s a significant boost for the team. We have very good people and now they will have a place to work that has the size and the scope to fit the tools they need to get the job done, not just for now but for a long time to come. Technically the main area we need to address is aero - that’s a fact for every team in F1. And for us to compete we need to keep bringing in people like John Iley, who can bring the sort of knowledge and experience we need to compete with the teams ahead of us. John’s already boosted the aero department and he and Marianne (Hinson, head of aerodynamics) are already working well, increasing the wind tunnel programme and the CFD capabilities so we are going in the right direction. The rest of the design office team is already doing a job that’s probably as good as quite a few teams ahead. The car’s reliable, easy to set up and we have a very good engine, gearbox and KERS package. So as long we keep notching up the level of work we do in aero, we’ll keep improving.

Q: Consistency doesn’t seem to be an issue for CT01. Is that its biggest strength?
HK: I don’t think it’s really the biggest strength but it’s certainly an area we don’t need to worry about. We had a couple of problems early in the season but they were small issues we dealt with quickly. But the truth is reliability doesn’t give you performance. We are where we should be on that front - F1 today demands that you have a car that can finish races and we have that.

Q: How is it being the frontrunner of the backmarkers? Is it in line with your ambitions?
HK: It’s not my ambition to be known for that sort of thing and I obviously want to be testing myself against the top drivers and the fastest cars, as does everyone in the team. But it’s important for me that I’ve regrouped since my first three years in F1 and I’m now happy with where I am as a driver. I think I’m performing very well and hopefully I can get into a position with this team where I can fight with the top guys out there, rather than just my team mate! Hopefully it will happen with this team. Hopefully we can keep going forwards and at some point this season we can start discussions about what we’re going to do in the future. We haven’t done that yet and I haven’t talked to any other teams yet. But for now I’m just focusing on doing what I am doing right now, qualifying and racing well and developing the level of performance to where it has to be. Then the future will sort itself out.

Q: Would you still say that small is beautiful?
HK: Haha! It can be when it’s done well. I think we’re a really good small team, certainly miles ahead of the other two small teams and perhaps functioning better than a couple of the smaller, more established teams. There are a few cars just ahead of us who clearly have more performance available, but perhaps they’re not able to get the best out of their package. I think we regularly are doing that. That’s a good thing for our team and we need to make sure we keep getting that right. Once we get a car that is quick enough to fight right in the pack, we’ll need to make sure we don’t lose that ability to get everything out of what we’ve got. So yes, small can be beautiful, but for us to be serious about being at the front of the grid we’ll have to be bigger, for sure. (laughs)

Q: Caterham is in P10 in the constructors’ championship at the moment. Toro Rosso is only six points away in P9 and you’ve come quite close to clinching the team’s first points at least at two races. Is your goal to help the team to take that place in the standings?
HK: I think that’s probably a tough ask. We shouldn’t be judged by the number of points we score this season, but by how far we’ve come in terms of performance. If we’re fighting with Toro Rosso then we’ve done well, but we’re not quite there yet, and there’s another gap to the pack ahead of them. We need to make sure we can keep qualifying ahead of Toro Rosso at all sorts of tracks, like we did at Valencia. And if we can race them then we should be judged on that, not how many points we have scored this year.

Q: In Bahrain and in Valencia you made it into Q2. How crucial is it to qualify further towards the front if you are to avoid the ‘danger zone’ of the last rows and get better results?
HK: I don’t think it gives me a big benefit to be qualifying that much higher up. It’s obviously a great boost for the team, and the fact we can push cars out in Q1 that were ahead of us earlier in the season is good mentally for everyone. But sometimes if you’re at the back of the queue it’s easier to avoid the problems than when you’re right in the mix! But it’s part of racing - going into the first corner, hanging onto the wheel and hoping you survive the first few corners. Really, it’s good for motivation but it probably doesn’t really have any impact on the final result. With the tyres the way they are now we’ve been using qualifying strategy as well as we can, but really the race strategy is the priority. That will change when we join the group in front, and once we’re in a serious fight with a few more of the cars around then qualifying will become more crucial. Having said that, as a driver, qualifying as high as possible is still good. Leaving that quick lap until the last second in Q1, getting everything out of the car over one lap, hoping you don’t see yellow flags or anything else that gets in the way - is a real buzz. The circuit evolves the longer you leave it and it’s fun to give it everything you’ve got. It’s worked out for us a couple of times this season and when you get back and see what it means to everyone to grab that slot in Q2, it’s good, a good feeling.

Q: How do you get along with new team mate Vitaly Petrov? Your results are pretty even…
HK: We get on well. He’s been a good addition to the team and it’s been fun racing him this year. He’s good, there’s no doubt about that. He’s quick and he’s learning how to get the most from the car and the team, so it’s good. We work well together with our engineers and there are no secrets. Nothing’s hidden. We’re all working to achieve the same goal, to push the whole team forward.

Q: Caterham has two ‘home’ races - one in Malaysia and this weekend’s British event. Will there be a massive updates at Silverstone?
HK: I wouldn’t say massive, but we definitely have more to come, not just for Silverstone but also for the whole season. That’s one thing that has changed. We are bringing new parts to every race now. In 2010 we stopped developing the car at Silverstone whilst now it’s another step, a natural part of the season. The important point is that we not only find performance gains, but make them relative to the teams ahead. Everyone updates their cars and we need to work even harder than the guys ahead to keep bridging that gap. That’s a big ask, but little by little we’re getting there and I hope Silverstone is another step forwards for us.

Q: What is the aim for the weekend?
HK: Really it’s the same as it is all season. Qualify well, race well and keep pushing. Keep working as hard as we can to get into that fight ahead.

Si ça intéresse quelqu'un, voici un petit point sur la situation de Heikki pour 2013. Bon après, ça vaut ce que ça vaut. ^^

Une autre interview de Kova mais rien de neuf sous le soleil.


Kovalainen coy on 2013 seat ESPN Staff August 10, 2012

Heikki Kovalainen last scored points in 2009 when he finished seventh in Singapore


Heikki Kovalainen remains coy over where he will drive in 2013, saying he is unsure of Caterham's plans and refusing to rule out any other teams.
Although Caterham has yet to join the midfield battle to start challenging for points, Kovalainen's performances over the last 18 months have been highly impressive. That has lead to him being linked with a number of drives - with Sauber the most recent - for next season but he told Motorsport-Total that there is no concrete news about his future.
"It's rumours and that's all I can say," Kovalainen said. "[Sauber] seems to be very strong this year, but that's all I can say. My focus is on maximising my performance here at Caterham and giving my best to the team. That puts me in the best possible position in the market if I want to move teams. I don't even know what Caterham's plans are - maybe they don't want me anymore...."
The slight possibility that Lewis Hamilton may not sign a new deal at McLaren could see a seat become vacant there, and despite a disappointing two-year spell with the team Kovalainen said he'd have "no problem" going back.
"For me, being at McLaren was a dream come true. They are a great team, a top team - no question. I know exactly what happened at that time, and what would happen if I got the chance in the future. I would have no problem [rejoining McLaren]. They are a great team and I am still in touch with lots of McLaren guys, I have a very good relationship with Martin Whitmarsh. At the time, everything just did not fit together, but there were reasons. Since then, a lot has changed...."

Salut Heikki...

Salut Benji  

Heikki va finir la saison chez Lotus apparemment : http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/news/2013/11/kovalainen-ersetzt-raeikkoenen-bei-lotus-13111309.html

Rrrroh, comment il va être suractif le Benji les deux prochaines semaines....

Un duel Grosjean-Kovalainen : ça va fritter sévère entre Benji et Zaitess Shion !    

Je suis déjà tout excité. Ca se comprend : il y a neuf mois, je pensais sa carrière finie, et le voilà qui finit la saison dans un top team.  

Je te comprends.
Quand Heidfeld est revenu chez Sauber en 2010....J'ai carrèment fait le topic de présentation du GP de Corée à son honneur.

Autosport confirme que Kovalainen est en chemin vers Austin.

Kova chez Lotus, c'est cool.

Selon Autosport, Kova a signé pour 2 courses, selon auto motor und sport pour 1 seule. Tjrs selon AMuS, Kova utilisera le chassis long comme Grosjean.

Purée, heureusement qu'il a encore fait des EL1 il y a pas longtemps pour le feeling global, mais j'ai peur qu'il en chie... C'est con qu'ils aient pas pu le confirmer avant pour qu'il fasse du simulateur...

Qui sait, il a peut être eu le temps d'en faire ?
Belle opportunité, va falloir être vite dans le coup !

Zelkin a écrit:Purée, heureusement qu'il a encore fait des EL1 il y a pas longtemps pour le feeling global, mais j'ai peur qu'il en chie... C'est con qu'ils aient pas pu le confirmer avant pour qu'il fasse du simulateur...

Complètement c'est un coup a achever sa carrière. Le refus serait plus humble je pense.

vino_93 a écrit:Qui sait, il a peut être eu le temps d'en faire ?
Belle opportunité, va falloir être vite dans le coup !

Je pense qu'il va se faire manger par Grosjean.

MacEugene a écrit:
Je pense qu'il va se faire manger par Grosjean.

ça serait bien le minimum, non ?
on ne lui demande d'ailleurs rien d'autre que d'apporter quelques points supplémentaires à lotus. on ne va pas non plus exiger de lui de se montrer à la hauteur de grosjean alors qu'il ne connait pas la voiture. entre P6 et P10 serait une très belle performance, à mon avis.

superswede a écrit:

MacEugene a écrit:
Je pense qu'il va se faire manger par Grosjean.

ça serait bien le minimum, non ?
on ne lui demande d'ailleurs rien d'autre que d'apporter quelques points supplémentaires à lotus. on ne va pas non plus exiger de lui de se montrer à la hauteur de grosjean alors qu'il ne connait pas la voiture. entre P6 et P10 serait une très belle performance, à mon avis.

sauter dans un voiture que l'on ne connait pas et ramener les points me semble impossible. Si l'on prend tout les intérimaire de ces dernières saison aucun n'a réussi à faire de résultat honorable. Les pire cas étant quand même Fisichella et badoer en 2009, Alors que Fisico n'était pas inactif depuis 12 mois.

I have a dream a écrit:

superswede a écrit:

MacEugene a écrit:
Je pense qu'il va se faire manger par Grosjean.

ça serait bien le minimum, non ?
on ne lui demande d'ailleurs rien d'autre que d'apporter quelques points supplémentaires à lotus. on ne va pas non plus exiger de lui de se montrer à la hauteur de grosjean alors qu'il ne connait pas la voiture. entre P6 et P10 serait une très belle performance, à mon avis.

sauter dans un voiture que l'on ne connait pas et ramener les points me semble impossible. Si l'on prend tout les intérimaire de ces dernières saison aucun n'a réussi à faire de résultat honorable. Les pire cas étant quand même Fisichella et badoer en 2009, Alors que Fisico n'était pas inactif depuis 12 mois.

D'un autre côté, s'il n'a plus aucun espoir de volant pour 2014 (et donc pour les années suivantes, faut pas se leurrer), cela peut tout de même lui permettre de démontrer qu'il est toujours dans le coup.

C'est pas vraiment aux USA qu'il faudra juger sa performance mais plutôt au Brésil où il aura eu une course pour tout apprendre. C'est plus intéressant que le cas d'Ambrosio qui était un one-shot voué à l'échec. Là il y a au moins une course d'apprentissage.